A YOUNG man died seven months after being seriously injured in a car crash, an inquest heard.

Andrew Gibson, from Ingleby Barwick, was in Dubai when he was involved in a car crash which left him with severe head injuries.

The sports enthusiast spent 10 weeks in a Dubai hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove a bone flap from the top of his head in order to allow his brain room to swell.

Andrew was later stable enough to be flown home to the UK and was admitted to James Cook University Hospital, still in a state of unconsciousness.

Then in February last year, Andrew underwent a cranioplasty, an operation to replace the bone flap on his skull with a metal plate.

An inquest into his death yesterday heard how the condition of the 22-year-old, who had gone to Dubai after landing a “dream job” working for construction company Al-Futtaim Carrillion, deteriorated following the surgery, despite there having been no complications.

The inquest was told how the former Loughbrough University student had been on a night out with friends before the accident.

He and four friends had watched a Wimbledon match before leaving nightspot Bar Zar in the early hours of the morning, on Monday July 7, 2008.

But tragically the taxi Andrew and friend Daniel Davis were travelling in collided with another vehicle, leaving Andrew with extensive head injuries.

The inquest heard evidence in a statement from Mr Davis, who was also injured in the crash but was released from hospital soon after.

He said: “I know I had my seatbelt on and I assume Andrew did too because he was still sitting in the seat.”

Mr Davis described an impact and said he passed out until he heard sirens.

He added: “When I woke, Andrew was resting his head on my shoulder and was bleeding.”

Mr Davis said he tried to wake his friend to no avail.

Consultant neurosurgeon Ernest Sinar, who performed the cranioplasty surgery, explained that the plate was not needed for immediate medical reasons but would have helped protect Andrew’s skull in the event of a seizure and for cosmetic reasons. However, Andrew’s condition deteriorated and he was rushed to intensive care the following day.

Medics involved in Andrew’s care told the inquest how medical staff became concerned that Andrew may have developed brain ischemia, damage caused by a lack of oxygen.

The inquest heard how the surgery encountered no problems but that scans revealed Andrew was unresponsive.

His family then made the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support and donated Andrew’s organs to help others, something they knew he would have wanted.